Guardians of Danger
by Chistarpax
Summary: A vicious battle leaves an entire city destroyed, with all the humans killed... save one. A young girl who is the lone survivor of one of the more horrific days in human history. Now an orphan, she grows up to become a key figure in the lives of those who fought in that battle. The two who saved her become her guardians, only to find that she is in more danger than ever before. AU
1. Survivor

I stated, when I finished TSOT: Afterwords… I would begin this story. A story based on 'Living with the Twins: A Guideline'…

And I did not lie.

So here it is; the first chapter of 'Guardians of Danger'… the story behind the guideline, and the reason why the guideline was needed.

So enjoy! It is a time for learning, and a time for laughter.

~.~ ~.~

It was a long battle… a long hard, vicious battle in which no bot was left unscathed. And no human in the area was left. Those that had been captured in the battlefield were quickly killed by Megatron and his troops. All those lives were lost to a sparkles mech who enjoyed killing, and power.

That day contained the most casualties… but none of them Cybertronian. All the lives destroyed had been human, because Megatron had finally discovered how to cause the most pain among the Autobots.

Destroy those whom the Autobots had sworn to protect.

Most of the humans did not blame the Autobots, they blamed the Decepticons. But there were those who did blame the Autobots… those who believed that—if the Autobots had never arrived—Earth would not have been pulled into the war of the Cybertronian race.

It was also on this day that a bond was formed. A bond unexplainable, but so strong nothing could sever it. A bond between two mechs, and one human girl that was no older than five. However, that bond was not going to be discovered for several years to come.

But, I digress; this human girl was the only survivor of what the humans would come to call 'Bloodbath.' A day in the history of Humanity that the organic inhabitants of Earth were reminded of how fragile their lives really were.

The scene is one of a battle raged city. The characters: Optimus Prime of the Autobots, Autobot SIC Prowl, Autobot TIC Jazz, and Autobot frontliners Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Megatron of the Decepticons, Decepticon SIC Starscream, Decepticon TIC Soundwave, and Decepticon Seekers Thundercracker and Skywarp.

And one small, fragile female human child; age of five, bearing the name Chi Star… her last name lost with her parents and the city.

And here, dear friends, is where our story begins, amid the ruins of Serenity, a small insignificant town in Oklahoma… and the town of 'Bloodbath.'

~.~

Megatron had just finished demolishing a building full of humans… a building that had once been called 'Serenity Hospital.'

It had been a children's hospital.

"Megatron!" Optimus Prime roared, fully prepared to destroy his enemy with no mercy this time.

"Come Prime… I thought you **protected** these organic wastes. Or have you realized that they are beneath your protection?" Megatron cackled; he was enjoying himself immensely. After all, he was killing humans and angering his nemeses.

"Megatron, you have gone too far this time." Optimus rumbled.

"Have I truly, Prime, or have I just finally hit a nerve with you?" Megatron asked, aiming his fusion cannon at the Autobot leader.

Optimus stood with his fists clenched, shaking in pure rage. He had vowed to protect the humans… but he had failed. Megatron had not only hit a nerve… he had crossed a line. This was low… even for Megatron.

"You will pay, Megatron… you will pay." Optimus suddenly crouched, getting ready to attack his opponent.

And then, without warning, the cries of a child could be heard. Those that battled around the two leaders froze, audios pinpointing the source of that sound; the sound of a survivor, the last piece of hope that the Autobots hadn't failed the humans.

The cries were closest to a pair of Autobots—one red, the other yellow—and two the two Decepticons that had been fighting against these Autobots.

"Don't just stand there you fragging fools!" A high pitched voice shrieked at the two seekers from where the owner of it stood in a grapple hold with the second in command of the Autobots. "Find that organic and destroy it!"

The seekers jumped to obey the orders.

"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe!" A voice yelled from the opposite direction of the Decepticon, designation Starscream, which had given the order. "You gotta stop them!"

"On it Jazz!" The red Autobot replied as he and his brother charged after the seekers.

The seekers got to the area first and lifted the chunk of building that had covered the child. It was a small human female with hair the color of the sun and deep blue eyes. She immediately fell silent and stared up at the seekers.

"Why…" The small being asked with tears streaming down her face. "Why?"

"Because kid… we wanted to." Skywarp cackled, while Thundercracker leveled his gun at the human girl.

The child, no older than five, stared up at the gun… and then looked into the owner's optics.

"You wanted to kill my mommy?" She asked, her voice wavering. "Mommy didn't hurt you… why did you want to kill her?"

"Because fleshy, we don't like humans…" Thundercracker sneered at her. "Your 'mommy' just so happened to be a human… and so are you."

The girl looked down and shook her head.

"Your just meanies… all of you 'cons…" She looked back up at them. "That's what mommy said."

"To each their own." Thundercracker shrugged with indifference. "Now you get to die just like your pathetic 'mommy'… how does that make you feel squishy?"

The girl didn't answer, just closed her eyes and waited for the shot that never came. What happened next was the two Seekers being tackled by two very angry Autobots.

"Fragging 'cons!" The yellow one roared. "Sideswipe, get her out of here!"

Sideswipe jumped to his feet and ran over to the human girl. "Hey, you okay?"

Her blue eyes pinned the red mech with a surprised look, and then she gave a small nod. "Are you… an Auto-bot?"

"That I am, so is my brother over there." Sideswipe lowered his hand to her. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

The girl stared at him for several seconds, and then slowly climbed onto his hand. "What is your name?"

"They call me Sideswipe, and the yellow one over there is Sunstreaker." Sideswipe brought his hand to his chestplates and shielded her with his arm. "What's your name kiddo?"

She sniffled and looked up at him with sad eyes. "Chi… Chi Star."

"So… Star is your last name?" He asked, taking off toward Ratchet in a jog.

Now she shook her head. "I can't say my last name… and I don't know how to spell it either."

"Okay, Chi, Do you have any family that doesn't live around here?"

"No… it was just me and mommy. Daddy died when I was two, and I don't have any aunts or uncles." She sniffled again. "And Grandma died last year… I don't have any other grandparents."

Sideswipe's lip components settled into a grim line, this girl was a true orphan.

"Sides! Watch out!" Sunstreaker suddenly yelled.

The warning came a second to late; he felt a blast land on his back and knew without a doubt that one of the seekers had gotten away from Sunstreaker.

"Slaggit!" The red twin yelled as he flew forward from the force of the seeker's hit. "Hold on Chi!"

The human girl was surprisingly silent, though he could feel her body trembling with fear. With slight difficulty he flipped around and landed on his back.

"Chi, do you see that mech over there… the white one with the red?"

She nodded, her eyes wide with fear.

"His name is Ratchet, I need you to run to him. Can you do that?"

"I can… but what about you?" She asked, not too excited about leaving the only being she saw as safe at the moment.

"I'll be fine, but you need to get to Ratchet. Okay?"

She gave a small, but firm nod. "Be careful Sideswipe."

The red twin stared down at her for a split second, and then gave her a nod of his own. With gentleness that was rarely shown, he sat her on the ground just above his head.

"Go, you'll be okay." He stated, standing up and turning to face the seeker.

He heard her barely audible okay, and then the sound of her running toward the medic.

"Come on Skywarp… you'll have to get through me to get to her."

"You really are a stupid Autobot, aren't you?" Skywarp smirked, and then started to fade out. "I don't **have** to go through you… I can warp there instead."

And the seeker disappeared, with the sound of a warp and Sideswipe heard the human girl let out a shriek of fear.

Suddenly, something inside of him clicked. Without warning he and his brother—who had heard Chi's scream as well—fell into their gladiator programming. It had been a long time since anything like that had happened, and no mech actually knew about their gladiator history. So when both of them froze for only a few seconds and then suddenly became lethal fighters no mech knew what had happened.

Skywarp only knew that he had been staring down the barrel of his gun at the human girl for all of three seconds, and then he was flying backward because of a piece of concrete. He hadn't even known about the weak spot just to the left of his spark that would cause him to immediately begin going into stasis if it was hit.

But the red frontliner had somehow known.

Thundercracker had been unaware that the yellow frontliner had the skill and precision to not only knock him back, but land several blows to main energon lines and important circuits at the same time. Before he could even register the movement, the seeker found the sky in his vision and warnings appearing in his HUD about ruptured energon lines and circuits that had been disconnected. The final thing he saw was the message that he was falling into stasis lock because of the damage.

How the yellow frontliner had done that in less time than it takes for a human to blink, he would never know.

Megatron actually stopped in his grapple with Optimus Prime to watch the Autobot twins. He had been a gladiator before he had been a war lord… and had never, in his entire existence, known that these two were gladiators. But he could tell the programming when he saw it… and then he recognized them.

They had gone by different designations in the gladiatorial pits… but he knew them.

"Decepticons! Retreat!" Megatron roared, the twins were in gladiator mode now… and any that did not share their mark was an enemy to be destroyed.

The Decepticons took off, most of them had been gladiators as well, and they could most definitely tell when mechs were in 'gladiator mode'. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker watched as the Decepticons retreated with cold optics, they knew that they had won… for now.

"What…" Jazz muttered, and then studied the way the twins were now standing near the human girl protectively. "Aw… slag."

The cold optics of predators landed on Jazz as he slowly approached the twins. He had only seen an actual gladiator match once… but once was enough for him to know the difference.

"Hey mechs… It's me, Jazz." He held up his hands to show that he was weaponless. "I'm not gonna hurt her, okay? I just want to make sure she's alright."

He froze when Sunstreaker let out a threatening rumble.

"C'mon mechs… you know me." He motioned to the Autobot symbol on his chasis. "And I'm wearing the same mark."

The other mechs on the field were watching with rapt attention. Not sure why Jazz was acting the way he was toward the twins. Ratchet was running scans from a distance, not wanting to get near the now hostile twins.

Optimus studied the way the twins were standing, and then turned to Prowl.

"Do you know what is happening?"

Prowl was silent for several seconds, and then his optics lit up with realization. "I believe, Prime, that we are glimpsing a part of their past. From the data I do know, they are in a stance most commonly taken by gladiators while that specific programming is active. However, they are standing guard over the human girl… which leads me to believe that gladiator programming—of which we had no idea about— is seemingly driving their need to protect the child."

Optimus nodded. "How do we get them out of it?"

"They would need a… figure that carries the same mark as they do and is one they respect as a leader to have them stand down." Prowl muttered. "Optimus… go up and talk to them. You are the only one they truly respect as a leader."

Optimus gave Prowl a look, but did as he was told… cautiously.

"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe…"

Both sets of optics landed on the Prime, they had already dismissed Jazz as a threat to them and their charge.

"Stand down. You are safe now… and so is the one you are protecting." Optimus held up his hands, palms toward them. "I give you my word that she is safe."

The two of them glanced at each other, and then back at the Prime.

"You give the word on your life?" Sideswipe asked, only it wasn't really him. It was a cold question, a question that carried more depth and meaning than the red twin had ever had.

"I give you my word on my spark." Optimus replied quietly.

"As you command warrior head." Sunstreaker stated with no hint of arrogance in his voice, only compliance.

Just as quickly as they had gone into their 'gladiator mode' they came out of it, Sideswipe's optics flickered in confusion for only a few seconds… and then he cursed. Sunstreaker actually offlined his optics and covered his faceplates with one hand.

"Never actually wanted you guys to know about that…" Sideswipe muttered, and then turned around to the human girl. "Hey, you okay?"

She stared up at him, and then gave a slow nod. "You beat the meanies…"

"Yeah, that's what we do kid." Sunstreaker stated, kneeling down to get a better look at her. "You sure you're okay?"

She only nodded in reply, exhaustion suddenly coming over her. "I'm sleepy…"

The yawn after that one statement only proved the fact, Ratchet was just suddenly there and giving the twins a scrutinizing look after scanning the human girl.

"The two of you have **a lot** of explaining to do." He stated, and then bent down to pick up the human girl.

"Autobots… get the injured back to the base. Prowl, contact human authorities, and you two…" Optimus fixed them with a contemplative look. "Good job today, go back to base and get some rest."

They nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Both twins paused and glanced back at the human girl.

"Thank you!" She called, though her words were slightly slurred with pure exhaustion, and then she fell asleep.

They stared at her for several seconds… not sure what to make of the fact that she seemed important to them, and then turned around and made their way to the base without another word.

~.~ ~.~

And that, is the first chapter of 'Guardians of Danger', in the next chapter it is several years later and we get to actually meet a Chi who is more the age that she is in the guideline.

Hope you guys enjoyed it. Review please! XD

Until all are one,

Chistarpax


	2. Adoption

I cannot believe how hard it was to get this chapter going! Writers block sucks… just so ya'll know.

Thank you to all of those who not only reviewed, but added this story to their favorite and follow lists! It means a lot to me that there are so many that enjoy it!

Thanks a bunch, and there are responses to your reviews at the end of the chapter!

~.~ ~.~

A young teenage girl with blonde hair let a groan slip from her lungs as she realized that the school was going to expel her… again. This was the fifth school in as many years, and she blamed it on the way the teachers taught. Every teacher made the students in their class go at the pace of the 'most challenged' child… Meaning that kids who had an IQ equal to that of a genius were normally bored out of their minds….

Okay, maybe that was just her—due to the fact that she was the only genius level being in her area.

And to top it off, she was an orphan… who lived at the orphanage where nobody liked her because she was not only a genius, but the sole survivor of something that she had been too young to truly remember.

She really hated her life sometimes.

Okay, so maybe it didn't help that she would pretty much run the 'school misfits' behind the scenes. It wasn't really her fault that the parents of the bullies were idiots. Their children were 'perfect angels'… even though it was those children that would give other children black eyes and broken bones. So what, a bully got the same treatment in return… only with several of the 'misfits' giving the treatment, but it was still 'receiving a taste of their own medicine.'

The kid had ended up in the hospital with several broken ribs and a cracked skull.

And then, when some of the kids had been pulled in for questioning, one kid in particular had ratted her out. Of course, she wasn't mad at this kid. She had fully believed that she would be reprimanded; she had no delusions of not being found out.

Though, she had to admit, she had thought it would take a bit longer than it had.

"Chi… why did you do it?" The woman that had been appointed as her 'case manager' sighed in exasperation.

"Because the kid was trying to take over the school by fear…" Chi muttered back. "I was only reminding the others that you can't 'rule by fear'… you have to have respect for the individual."

The case manager just shook her head. "I can't believe you did that though… that kid almost got killed!"

"I didn't mean for it to go the way it did!" Chi snapped back, and then took a shaky breath.

It really did bother her that the kid was in the intensive care unit. She wanted it to not be true… but she knew it was.

The case manager finally seemed to notice that Chi was barely holding her fear and horror at what she had done in.

"Chi…" She whispered, and then sat down beside the 13 year old girl.

"Ms. Charon… what are they going to do to me?" She whimpered, her eyes wide with worry.

"That, Chi, depends on what your new guardian wants to do." The case manager smiled at her.

Now blue eyes widened in surprise and she immediately looked around for who the woman was talking about.

"You mean…"

"Yes, Chi. You've been adopted." Charon smiled at her. "I'm sorry for not letting you know about it sooner, but it's been kind of tied up in the courts."

"Why would it have been tied up?" Chi asked; her voice suddenly cautious.

"Because, Chi, they were uncertain how… decent of a caretaker I would be." A deep baritone voice stated with a small chuckle. "However, I think we should first talk about the actions of today."

Now Chi seemed to shrink in her seat outside of the principal's office. Since the day of what was called 'Bloodbath' by the humans, she had been in contact with the Autobots. In fact, they had been her only friends and the only beings she considered family.

"Hi Optimus…"

She was talking to the hologram of Optimus Prime, completely missing the fact that he had just answered her question on not only why the courts had been leery of granting someone guardianship of her, but that it was he that had been trying to become her guardian.

"Why did you do it, Chi?"

"That guy was picking on them… and they were letting him." Chi stated, refusing to meet Optimus' eyes.

She was definitely ashamed of her actions.

"It wasn't supposed to go that far…I hadn't even meant for them to physically attack him." A small hitch in her voice showed both adults how much it actually bothered her that the bully had been hurt. "I had only told them that they needed to stand up for themselves… not hurt that kid. I'm sorry…"

And she began to curl into herself, her knees came up and touched her chest where her arms wrapped around her shins and hugged them tight to herself. She buried her head in her knees.

"I didn't mean for it to happen like that… I'm sorry…" Her sentence fell into a whimper. "I'm sorry…"

At that moment Optimus saw the sorrow and fear in her. She wanted that kid to be okay, she didn't want the kid hurt…

She was truly sorry.

"Do not worry over it… mistakes are made, and you will learn from it. I have every confidence that you will." Optimus murmured, sitting beside her and pulling the frightened girl into his arms.

"What are they going to do to me Optimus?" She whispered, her voice thick with tears, as she curled against the chest of the hologram.

"They have already done what they will… you have been expelled." Optimus sighed. "However, you are going to be… homeschooled now. Prowl and Jazz are very… excited to begin your schooling."

That was when Chi's thought processes finally caught on… and then she jerked away from Optimus, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief forming on her face.

"**You're **my new guardian?!"

"Yes, Chi, I am."

Chi sat in absolute shock, and then a smile of pure joy crossed her features. It had finally happened, she had a family.

The **Autobots **were now her family.

"Wait… Prowl and Jazz are going to be my **teachers**?!"

Optimus almost laughed outright at the slight horror in her voice.

"That they are, and they have already put together a curriculum that will not only match your intelligence levels, they will challenge them."

"Great… awesome… But **Prowl AND Jazz**!"

"It was either Prowl and Jazz or Red Alert and Ratchet."

"I can't wait!" Chi was suddenly extremely chipper to have the two higher officers as her teachers. "So… now what?"

"Now you go with Optimus here and settle in." Charon stated with a smile. "I'll come see you in a week or so to see how you're getting along, okay?"

Chi stared at Charon, not sure what she meant by 'see how you're getting along', but willing to overlook the slightly disapproving tone. Chi knew that Charon didn't like the idea of a non-organic being the guardian of a 13 year old human girl, the case manager had told Chi that herself.

But, it was not Charon's choice.

"I'm sure I'll be just fine Charon." Chi stated, her voice only icing over the tiniest amount, not even enough for the case manager to really tell the difference.

"It is a long trip, Chi, is there anything you would like to get in order to make the ride more comfortable?" Optimus asked, breaking the sudden tension in the room.

"No… I'll just go to sleep." Chi grinned up at him. "Like I normally do."

"I had thought you would, but I assumed you would like for me to ask anyway." Optimus chuckled down at her. "Your belongings have already been packed and are on their way to the base. Your room is ready as well…"

"Who packed my belongings?" Chi interrupted Optimus to ask.

"Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, they volunteered to do so."

Pure amusement whipped through Chi's eyes and a small smirk came to rest on her lips. "They did, did they?"

"Well, Prowl might have… convinced them to do so." Optimus smiled in response. "Now, we must be going if we are to arrive before dark."

"Yes sir!" Chi chirped, then paused, and looked back at Optimus. "Hey… I was wondering… I mean I've been wanting to…"

"What is it Chi?" Optimus asked, his face suddenly falling into a worried expression.

"Can I call you Dad?" She blurted, and then looked down at the ground in mortification of how bluntly she had just asked that question.

Optimus stood very still for several seconds, and then he smiled.

"If you wish to do so, I would be honored to carry the title."

Chi blinked in surprise, and then grinned at him, joy filtering through her. "Really!? Thanks Dad!"

And she skipped out to the parking lot, leaving a slightly surprised Optimus and Charon, the now slightly irritated case manager, behind.

"We'll see how long that lasts." Charon muttered to Optimus, and then shouldered past him and stormed out of the school.

The Autobot CO watched Charon go, and knew for a fact that the case manager would no doubt try and cause trouble for the Autobots. But he also knew that he wasn't going to let her do anything that would hurt Chi.

She was, by human law, his daughter now… and he would protect his child with his life.

~.~ ~.~

Chapter 2 is done!

To my reviewers:

**Naughtia**: Thank you, I was hoping it would be liked! XD

**Swiftpaw2012**: I'm sorry for the wait, but here is chapter two, hope you liked it!

**Bloodmoonmiko**: I saw that you put this on your favorites! Much thankies to you for that! XD

**Guest (Princess of Dreams?)**: I know… it took way to long to actually get this started… and now it took forever for me to get the second chapter… hope you liked it!

**Bee4ever**: I know right? I just thought that, since most stories have them out of control and more like animals in berserker, why not make them lethal, skillful, graceful (almost) killing machines instead? The gladiatorial pits had to be more than just animalistic fighting; it probably had more skill and grace than ever given credit for! I mean, look at the 'cons… they came from the gladiatorial pits, and are excellent fighters. It makes sense to me that the twins would be that way if going with the idea that they were gladiators before the war.

**nightfury97**: Thank you! And here is the rather late update!

**ChiyukiLuvs2Glomp**: Much thankies, I'm glad my story is liked! XD

**AD Axel**: Your review is awesome! Thankies to you for leaving it! XD

**Nightmare Prime**: Here is that chapter you asked for so politely! Hope you liked it!

Thanks goes to **Tatsurion, Swiftpaw2012, Bloodmoonmiko, Dunk234, SoulXMaka, Zombiegirl0203, Fire Child24, AD Axel, Nightmare Prime, transformationsgirl, i love tfg1 tracks, Sunny's Sister, HikariFighter, ChiyukiLuvs2Glomp, Trialwave, ThisLittleFlowerOfMine, CP9-Rescue-Senshi, Bee4ever, Kingdomfantasyanime453, Randal Boggs, Everythings Permitted, and The Midnight Thorn** all of whom added this to their favorites and/or following lists. It means a lot to me and it is my reviewers and followers that give me inspiration and strength to keep writing.

Thank you all!

Until all are one,

Chistarpax


	3. Surprises

Arrrgh! I HATE WRITERS BLOCK! How long has it been since I updated?! Three months? It's been too long I tell you, too long.

Anyway, here is chapter three of Guardians of Danger… Hope you guys like it.

~Public Comm~

/Private Comm/

_Twin Speak_

: Officers Comm :

~.~ ~.~

A blonde teenager, no more than 16 years of age, walked into the museum with a dazed smile on her face. Her hand was wrapped in the hand of a dark haired boy that was one year older than her.

"Which gallery do you want to visit first Chi?" The boy asked, all his attention suddenly focused on the girl's attentive blue eyes.

"Let's go to the Egyptian exhibit first." The girl, now known as Chi, grinned back. "Okay Chris?"

"Sounds like a plan little spirit."

Chi giggled and flashed the two vehicles in the parking lot a meaningful glare, one that all but stated out loud to not ruin this date for her. The twin Lamborghinis sunk down on their tires and the red one flashed its lights at her. The two seemingly normal cars were in fact Sunstreaker and Sideswipe of the Autobots. Chi's adopted family. The two of them had been appointed her guardians the day she had arrived on base, and she was more than happy to have them. But they tended to ruin dates… somewhat. True, most of those dates would have ended with her breaking up with the boy anyway… but the concept was still there.

Chi shook the thoughts away and focused on the boy who was now escorting her around the museum. Though, she noted that he hadn't been looking at her face… or even at her. He had been watching a woman in front of them; to be exact he had been watching the woman's ass.

"So…" Chi began quietly. "Have you seen anything that caught your interest already?"

"Yep." Chris stated, his eyes flicking to her for a split second and then sweeping over the gallery.

"Describe it to me."

"Well…."

~.~

_I think Chi's heart rate just picked up…_

_Yeah… it did Sideswipe… just like when she's pissed and chewing us out…_

The two Lamborghini's had activated their holograms and were chatting in what most humans around them would assume was just an exotic language. In truth, it was the language the two of them had developed… which would be considered an exotic language, just not one that came from earth.

_Do you think she's pissed at her date?_

The blonde hologram snorted and shot the red headed one a 'duh' look. It was obvious that she was pissed at either her date or at one of the people in the museum itself. With the former being the more likely choice.

_Let's just give her some time…_

/Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, meet me at the door in three minutes. /

The obvious anger over the comm was all that the twins needed to deactivate their holograms and drive to the front door. Chi was just storming out of the museum as they pulled up, followed closely by her date.

"Come on Chi, I didn't mean any offense."

"You commented that I just so happened to look hotter that the woman in front of us, and then stated that 'her ass may have been hotter' than mine. Which is why you were watching it in the first place." Chi snapped, and then turned to look Chris in the face when she was only inches from Sideswipe's passenger door. "You are a pain in the ass. I don't even know what I saw in you to begin with."

"Come on baby…" And the boy reached to take her hand, which she jerked way with the speed of a bullet. "Don't be like that."

And he took a tight hold of her wrist… only for a hand to land on his shoulder.

"I suggest you let her go."

Chris paused, and then turned to look at the blonde teenager that had his hand on Chris' shoulder.

"And just who is going to make me?"

"Sunstreaker, don't hurt him." Chi sighed as she pried Chris' fingers from her wrist.

"What kind of a name is 'Sunstreaker'?" Chris laughed. "Are you a hippie or something?"

Chi just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You do realize who my family is, right?"

"Nope, never really cared either." Chris stated snottily. "I was more focused on trying to get some tail, but it seems that you are just a stuck up rich bitch."

A red-head suddenly appeared beside Chi, seriously just appeared out of thin air.

"What did we tell you about this kid?" The red head sighed and shook his head. "Come on Chi, Optimus just commed, there has been some Decepticon activity in the area and he wants you home and safe on base."

Chi rolled her eyes. "As usual, you can tell Dad that the two of you are taking me there… I don't want to finish a date with this asswipe anyway."

"You know what Prowl would say about your language, right?" Sunstreaker asked as he let Chris' shoulder go and pushed the kid away.

"That it's improper for the daughter of the Prime, adopted or not, to speak with such vulgarity?"

The red headed teen let out a laugh. "Sounds like you've heard that one several times before."

"You have no idea Sideswipe."

"Those names… Aren't those Autobots?" Chris suddenly stammered.

The three paused at Chris' words, and then exchanged looks.

"Yes, they are… I'm Chi Star Pax, the adopted daughter of Optimus Prime."

"And the only survivor of the Bloodbath…" Chris stated. "No way… I was dating the survivor of the Bloodbath."

Chi winced and looked at Sideswipe. "Get me out of here before I punch his face in."

The passenger door opened without another word, and Chi climbed inside—just as the entranceway to the museum exploded in a shower of mortar and bricks.

"That was Starscream!" Sunstreaker called as his hologram disappeared. "Get her out of here Sideswipe, I'm picking up more 'cons on my radar!"

"I would really like to get her out of here, Sunstreaker, but it seems that we have a Devastator in the way!"

Sunstreaker let out a curse and transformed, gaining several surprised gasps and even a few cries of joy.

"Chi…" Sideswipe stated quietly to the human inside his cab. "I need you to listen to me. You need to get as far away from the battle zone as possible, okay?"

"Yeah… Running, good idea… I agree with that plan." She responded as she watched Sunstreaker distract Devastator. "The two of you better not come back to base in pieces… am I clear?"

Sideswipe laughed. "Clear as crystal Chi. On three I'm going to open the door and you need to take off towards that mall a couple blocks down, okay?"

"Got it."

"One…"

Chi turned towards the door and tensed in preparation to run like hell. She was used to running though, since Ironhide was her physical activity instructor at the base.

"Two…."

The walkway just in front of the cherry red Lamborghini exploded as the seeker trine made another pass.

"Three!"

And Sideswipe threw his door open as Chi launched herself out of him and onto the pavement. She barely registered the sound of his transformation before she was a block away, and the steady drum of her shoes hitting concrete filled her ears. She had tuned out the sounds of combat so that she wouldn't turn back to try and help. The last time she had done that it had ended with two very pissed off twins and a thorough chewing out from Optimus. The only question she had was why the Decepticons had attacked this specific town. There were no power plants or oil rigs around. Nor was there any military base. That was the main reason as to why she and her 'date' had decided to go to the museum there.

So why in the hell were they there?

"My, my… what is this?" A nails-on-chalkboard voice stated as a seeker landed in front of her. "The little Autobot pet, it must be my lucky day."

Chi froze and glared up at the seeker in front of her. "Leave me alone Starscream… unless you want what happened last time to repeat itself."

"The two Autobot frontliners are busy with Devastator at this moment, fleshy, and help is much farther away than you seem to think." Starscream sneered at her. "It's just you and me here now."

"Frag…" Chi muttered. "Why in the hell are you even in this town? I was under the impression that there was nothing of value to you assholes here."

The girl took a few slow steps back, only to freeze and curse herself mentally when her back hit a wall. She then began sidling sideways along the wall, never taking her eyes off of the seeker in front of her.

"We are here because we were informed that YOU would be here with minimal protection. Making it easier to finish the job we didn't end 11 years ago, fleshling." Starscream let out a dark chuckle.

"And just who in the hell informed you of that?" Chi growled through gritted teeth, there weren't that many beings who knew that she was even there… in fact only the Autobots and her case manager knew… and her adopted family wasn't about to tip them off.

That goddamn bitch of a case manager.

Chi let a scowl cover her features the moment she figured it out. Why couldn't she have gotten a case manager that was okay with her living with the Autobots? She knew that there had to be some out there. Of course… she also knew that the case manger had recently been released for her 'biased thoughts' on Chi's adoption. In fact, today would have been her last day as a case manager.

Well shit.

"Now, on to the main reason we came…"

"Put the gun down, Screamer… you're outmatched." A rather upbeat voice called from the building top above Chi.

"Jazz!" She called, a grin spreading rather quickly across her face. "Am I glad to see you!"

"I knew you would be kitten." The saboteur called back, and then motioned toward Starscream. "Though I don't think he's too happy about it."

"You fragging glitch! I'll take you out and then kill her."

"That would be impossible." A voice came from Chi's left and she turned to see a rather stoic SIC. "Your chances of even being able to disable Jazz are less than 15%, and even then you would have to then deal with me."

Chi couldn't help but grin wider at Prowls statement. He was, of course, referring to the fact that no mech had ever been able to defeat the two officers when they fought together. They were extremely close friends, and just so happened to have also been partners in crime (actually, they had been enforcers in Iacon) before the war.

In other words, they worked EXTREMLY WELL together.

Starscream seemed to realize this just as Chi's thought processes came to a close, and she watched the seeker to the Cybertronian version of paling over.

"We suggest you get out of here and take your little squad of idiots with you." Jazz stated with a laugh. "Because Optimus and several others are on their way here right now."

Starscream didn't mutter a single word as he sent the order to retreat across the Decepticon comm links. With more speed than usual the air commander and the Decepticons that he had led there were gone… just in time for Optimus to pull up and transform. His optics immediately began searching for Chi, who was just stepping out of Prowl. They had been halfway across the city, meaning that Chi had ran farther away than she had thought she had.

"You said that the mall was only two blocks away Sideswipe!" Chi yelled at the red twin as he and Sunstreaker jogged up to them. "I was a good seven blocks away and didn't see any mall at all."

"The mall is two blocks **that way**." Sideswipe stated and pointed exactly 90 degrees from the direction she had gone. "You went the wrong way."

Chi stopped, and then grew red in the face when she realized he was right.

"Are you alright?"

The young woman jumped in slight surprise and looked up at Optimus, who had somehow walked up to the group without notice… an amazing feat when you were as tall and as heavy as he was.

"Yep, Jazz and Prowl got to me before Starscream could do anything." Chi grinned up at him. "By the way, you should try and get ahold of any calls Ms. Charon put out… I have a feeling that she's the one who tipped them off to my being here."

Optimus nodded. "And how did your… date go?"

Chi's expression became one of irritation and she gave an indignant huff. "It ended, quickly."

With that she motioned to Sideswipe, who transformed and popped open his passenger door. "Now I just want to go home and relax."

She climbed in and asked Sideswipe to just drive… which he did without argument. He knew better than to argue with her when she was in this kind of a mood. With a quick 'you explain it' to Sunstreaker through the twin-bond, Sideswipe took off toward the base.

Leaving Sunstreaker to explain what had happened to the three, ehem… overprotective mechs why Chi had ended the date so quickly, and didn't want to talk about it now.

It was a very long drive home for the golden twin.

~.~ ~.~

Thank you to all of you guys who reviewed last chapter! I am going to start sending pm replies to those reviews now.

I hope you all liked this chapter and once again, much thankies to all of you! XD

Until all are one,

Chistarpax


	4. Care

Is this… is it truly… A NEW CHAPTER!?

Yes, yes it is my friends. And I apologize for the long wait… writers block sucks. Just saying.

Okay, Chi is 23 now (finally, the prologue chapters are done) and we can get down to business, it's time for the plot to show up and for the feelings to start showing, because they have already developed.

Let's get this show on the road!

~.~ ~.~

"I need that clamp over here now!" Ratchet yelled as he tried to staunch the flow of energon from a mechs shoulder.

"I'm coming!" A 23 year old blonde woman shouted back as she jumped onto a hover board and sped to the berth with a clamp in her arms. "I can only go so fast Ratchet!"

"Well go faster!" The medic snarled back as she tossed him the clamp while she sped up the ramp attached to the berth. "You would think that you would have become faster in the past few years of helping me."

"Whatever Ratchet." The woman huffed. "I also know that the energon line that you're repairing isn't a major one. Therefore you only wanted me to speed up because you didn't want to clean up the mess."

"I could make you clean it up."

Now the woman scoffed. "I can't, remember? Energon is toxic to humans."

Ratchet grumbled something under his breath, but a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Fine, Chi, and then you get to explain to Wheeljack why he has to stay in the med-bay longer because of Energon loss." Ratchet smirked down at her.

"He was going to have to stay in the med-bay anyway so that the mesh graphs and replaced lines can properly fuse with his systems." Chi grinned up at the medic. "So, it's a moot point."

"Smart-aft."

"Ass, Ratchet, I have an ass-not an aft."

Now the medic scowled down at her as he sent the command for Wheeljack to online. "Prowl would disagree with your language."

"Prowl disagrees with my language all the time." Chi shrugged up at him. "I'm used to it."

"That doesn't mean you have to purposefully try and irritate him."

"Not my fault that it irritates him. I'll talk the way I want to talk; he can either get over it or continue being irritated by it."

Ratchet's mouth opened like he was going to say something, but then he changed his mind and shrugged instead. The two of them fell into comfortable silence for several minutes as Wheeljack slowly onlined.

"The entire arm…" The inventor muttered slowly after his systems had finished calibrating.

"Yes, we'll have to build a new one." Ratchet sighed, and then subspaced his wrench and hit Wheeljack over the helm with it. "You fragging idiot. You KNEW that those two liquids would explode."

"That's why I used a smaller amount this time… I thought it would be different." Wheeljack let out a yelp as the wrench collided with his helm a second time.

Chi rolled her eyes at the antics of the two 'adult' mechs. With a sigh her attention was turned to the ICU where her guardians were after the last battle. She had once again been the target, and they had once again gotten hurt defending her. Deep inside her it **hurt** that they were hurt, she had discovered a while ago that she had feelings for the twins. But that didn't mean that she was comfortable with the fact. They were her best friends, her protectors, and her comic relief when things started getting too stressful. She didn't want to ruin that with some sort of a relationship. But that didn't mean that her heart would let her forget that she, well, loved them.

Ratchet and Wheeljack fell silent as they noticed that Chi was once again staring at the ICU. Worry was prominent on her face and both mechs knew what was going through her mind. Though she had never told them, they knew that she had fallen for the two frontliners.

/ Ratchet… when are we going to make it clear that we know about her feelings? / Wheeljack asked over the private comm. link.

/ Whenever you want to just blurt it out. /

/ Gee, Ratchet, you make is sound like I have no tact. /

/ That's because you don't. /

Wheeljack slapped Ratchet's arm with his only hand in retaliation to that comment, but then sighed and looked back down at the human girl.

"So… Chi…" Wheeljack began, catching her attention and gaining a what-do-you-want look. "When are you going to admit that you love the twins?"

Her blue eyes widened and she paled over, after which she immediately began stuttering denials and her cheeks turned redder than Red Alert's paint job.

"I told you." Ratchet huffed at Wheeljack, earning him another smack and a glare.

"Told him what?!" Chi squeaked.

"That he has no tact." Ratchet shrugged and then leaned against the berth. "So, when are you going to admit it?"

"What… how… When did you figure it out!?" She finally managed to squeak out.

"Three years ago when the two of them were in the ICU and you were insanely worried about them." Wheeljack's head panels flashed in utter amusement.

"You tend to stay in the med-bay as much as possible whenever they are in the ICU because of a battle." Ratchet shrugged. "That and we can tell that you worry about them whenever you stare in that direction."

"Gee, thanks guys." Chi snapped as embarrassment turned to irritation. "I didn't think it was that obvious."

"It is." Wheeljack and Ratchet chorused together.

"Well… Don't tell them. Please?" The human woman deflated and looked back toward the ICU.

"Why not?" Ratchet questioned slowly.

"Because I don't want them to know; it would just make things awkward."

Both sets of optics flickered in surprise at her statement.

"But…"

A sudden crash from the ICU halted the conversation and had Ratchet running in while Chi activated her hover board and launched herself off of the berth. The moment the board entered the ICU she yelled at the twins that she was okay and to calm down. They had been in their gladiator modes when they were damaged to the point of stasis. It had been a long battle, and five Decepticons that had been champions in the gladiatorial pits had attacked them while they were protecting Chi. They had slipped into their gladiator programming when her leg had been pinned under a slab of rock and she couldn't get away.

It terrified her when they were in their gladiator modes, they didn't seem like them when that strain of programming was active. It wasn't the underlying violence that they portrayed that scared her, because she knew they wouldn't harm her, it was the fact that the twins weren't the same as they were when it was off.

"Chi…" Sideswipe muttered as the gladiator programming deactivated. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you two." She offered them a tight smile. "Are you two okay?"

"We'll be fine." Sunstreaker stated as he fell back onto the berth. "Your safety means more than ours."

Chi tensed at the yellow twin's statement, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from telling them different. It was a common argument between the three of them.

"Did we at least beat them this time?" Sideswipe sighed.

"Yeah, all five of them." Chi snapped.

Her tenseness had all three of the mechs in the room pausing and staring down at her. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides and her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Chi…"

"I'll see you guys later." She stated through clenched teeth, and then spun her hover board around and shot out of the door.

"What's her problem?" Sunstreaker huffed.

"You would think that she wasn't glad we onlined." Sideswipe stated quietly.

"She is overjoyed that the two of you onlined." Ratchet stated as he ran a few diagnostics on their systems. "Did you not notice her relief when your gladiator protocols shut off?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't really seem to mean anything." Sunstreaker stated in irritation. "She always runs out right after we online…"

"Kind of makes us think that she doesn't really want us around." Sideswipe stated without emotion.

Ratchet paused in his work to give the two of them an incredulous look, only for it to turn into one of realization. The two frontliners looked **hurt** that she never stayed long after they onlined, which—when he allowed himself to admit it—did seem like she didn't care about them. But the medic also knew that she had slight troubles admitting when she felt anything other than anger. The way she ran out of the room, and the message that Wheeljack sent to him over the comm. link, also helped Ratchet know that she really did love the two of them. It was fear that made her run out, fear that they would see how much she actually cared.

"She cares more than she lets on, Sideswipe. And I have a feeling that she wouldn't know what to do with herself if the two of you weren't near her constantly." Ratchet knew that he was walking a fine line. If he let the wrong words slip—even around these two with their denseness—they would figure out exactly what her feelings for them were.

"Yeah… well, she could show it more often." Sunstreaker huffed.

Ratchet stared at the yellow twin and surprise suddenly drifted across his faceplates.

"You two care about her more than you let on."

Both twins fell silent and still at Ratchets observation, they were watching him with critical optics. As if trying to decide wither or not to trust him with something.

"We don't just care about her…" Sideswipe started hesitantly, throwing Sunstreaker a glance that all but said he wasn't positive about this idea.

"We love her, Ratchet." Sunstreaker didn't even bother to return his twin's glance. Cold determined optics bored into the medic, as if daring him to tell the twins that it wasn't right.

Ratchet only met Sunstreaker's look with a calm light in his optics. The medic had assumed… but hadn't wanted to pry.

"I thought so." Ratchet nodded.

"But don't tell her!" Sideswipe blurted. "We don't want her to become awkward around us!"

Something occurred to the medic at that moment, and he fought back a groan. The twins didn't want Chi to know about their feelings for the same reason why Chi didn't want the twins to know about hers.

He was surrounded by what seemed to be high schoolers.

"Please Ratchet, promise you won't tell her." Sunstreaker surprised the medic by pleading with him.

Ratchet gave a heavy sigh, but nodded. "The two of you need to tell her though… or you might lose the chance to let her know how you feel."

And with that the medic left the ICU, activating his private comm along the way.

/Wheeljack…/

/What Ratchet?/

/You're not going to believe this…/

~.~ ~. ~

Interesting, no?

So, there we go. The first of many problems has been posed, and several more are on their way. I apologize again for the wait for this chapter!

If you've read it, please review it!

Until all are one,

Chistarpax


	5. Watching TV

Seriously, I just had a very interesting conversation with my older sister. We own the Digimon Season 1 box set and were watching the episode where Matt and Tai are arguing and end up in a fist fight… and my sister starts ranting...

Sister: "I swear Tai and Matt were gay and hid it with a crush on Sora!"

Me: *stares*

Sister: "That's it! I wanna see a threesome with those two now…"

Me: *stares*

Sister: "Dang it! I mean three… *looks at my wide-eyed expression* Stop looking at me like that!"

Me: *Obliges and starts laughing… and then is hit with new idea for 'Guardians of Danger'*

So here comes the new chapter. It's basically filler and is meant to be funny… anyway…

Here it goes!

~.~ ~.~

All was quiet in the rec-room. The Aerialbots were on their off-shift and had decided to spend it in the rec-room at a corner table, Jazz had dragged Prowl kicking and screaming (well… absolutely pissed and grumpy) into the rec-room for a cube, and the Twins were hanging out with Chi watching TV.

Everybody in the room was quiet, though sometimes there were several snorts of laughter that came from the corner table that the Aerialbots were at. The TV was set on a low volume, and the three watching it were more likely to shoot off comments at each other rather than watch the show, at least until…

"No! That's just… what in the hell is up with that!?"

The twins both jumped and then looked down at the blonde woman who had shouted at the TV.

"Come on! Those two are totally meant to be together…"

"But they're both guys…" Sideswipe stated hesitantly. "And they both have a crush on…"  
"I don't care! The crush is obviously a cover-up for the fact that the two of them are gay and obviously have the hots for each other." Chi motioned toward the screen where the end credits were rolling.

Awkward silence followed the statement.

"Did you breathe at all during that sentence?" Sunstreaker finally asked, if only to break the silence.

"No, but I have an amazing diaphragm… just saying." Chi sighed.

"But why those two?" Sideswipe asked in confusion, only to receive a glare from Sunstreaker for starting that back up.

"Come on! Didn't you see how they acted around each other?! And they chose **the same girl** to have a crush on!" Chi's arms waved around as she talked. "They like each other and are either too embarrassed to admit it or are unable to realize that they have feelings for each other!"

"Breathe Chi…" Sunstreaker was staring at Chi with concern, which only deepened when she took a deep gasping breath. "Better?"

"Yes, anyway…"

"Stop… we're good." Sideswipe waved his hands. "Anyway, they obviously like the girl, but they don't want to show how much they like her because they are embarrassed by liking her… or they are worried that they might ruin their friendship with her, making her be awkward around them…"

Chi just stared up at the red frontliner with a blank expression.

_Sideswipe, did you seriously just say that!?_

_It slipped out, I didn't mean to!_

"Yeah, right…" Chi finally muttered. "They're gay… or bisexual… Damn it, now I want to see a threesome between the three of them."

Awkward silence followed her comment, and then Jazz choked on his energon while Prowl began twitching. It wasn't until a spark came from his helm that the others realized he had glitched from Chi's rant.

"Oops…" Chi flinched away from the obvious fact that she had been the cause of this glitching session. "That's not good."

"I make the motion that we vacate the rec-room before Hatchet shows up." Sideswipe stated quickly.

"I second that!" Chi said loudly.

Sunstreaker reached down and picked Chi up as he and Sideswipe took off out of the rec-room. Ratchet met them just outside of the door, and had to dodge out of the way to avoid being run over.

"Sorry Ratchet!" Chi called as they ran down the hallway. "It's my fault that Prowl glitched! I'll see you later!"

Ratchet stood staring after them, and then what she had said finally seemed to sink in. The CMO let out a growl and stalked into the rec-room in time to see Prowl hit the ground.

The bellows of a pissed-off medic rang through the base.

~.~ ~.~

I know… it's short. But it's just a filler chapter, so I hope you guys won't be too irritated.

By the way, I have a poll up on my profile. It's based off of a question I asked my sister and then I wanted to verify the answer she gave me… Please vote on it! If you read it, please review it!

Until all are one,

Chistarpax


	6. Tears and Promises

I know… its been forever since I posted a new chapter, and this one was slow in starting and then it was done before I realized it. -.-'

Anyway… hope you guys like it… and sorry for some of the jumping around I've done. I swear I won't jump around as much anymore!

~.~ ~.~

Chi sighed as she walked around the far corner of the base. She had needed some alone time… and was on the verge of telling the two that were not-so-sneakily following her off. Not that she was mad about being followed… but the two that had followed her were exactly the ones that she was trying to avoid. Her emotions were at an all-time high and she still wasn't sure how to approach the subject. She was not just 'in love' with them. They were the center of her world, and were probably the only reason why she had made it through her teenage years. She wasn't obsessed with them… but even the idea that one day they might not be there hurt.

She wanted them to be there for her… no matter what. The latest battle had made her realize that, even though they could drive her insane, she didn't know what to do if they weren't there. Just the memory of them going down had tears in her eyes, and all because she was a target for the Decepticons. Apparently it had bugged Megatron that one human had survived way back then, it had hurt the mechs pride… and he had been gunning for her ever since. The Autobots had taken her in, but that had only seemed to make her more of a target after a few years. She was trained in how to avoid laser blasts, handle a blaster, and create small booby traps that would give her more time to run away from a 'con should she have the need. And that had come in handy more than once… but every now and then, she would get caught and the twins would be thrown into their gladiator programming because of it. Each time that programming activated, she would be rescued quickly… but they would be badly damaged in the process.

She hated it, hated that she was the reason why they would get hurt.

Chi let out another sigh, this one heavier and carrying more of the pain she felt. There were tears gathering in her eyes again… and she couldn't stop them from coming. She felt responsible for all the pain the twins had gone through since they had met her. Though she was sure that they would tell her not to worry about it, and that it wasn't her fault…

She knew, deep down, it was her fault… and nothing they said would change that.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe knew that she wanted to be alone, and normally they would leave her alone. But at that moment they were testing a theory.

_Hey Sunny…_

_Don't call me Sunny._

_Fine, does she look like she's about to cry?_

Sunstreaker rolled his optics skyward and then gave his twin a look that made the red frontliner shrink back a little.

_I'll take that as a yes…_

_Gee, Sideswipe, I didn't notice that she was about to cry. It's not like she NEVER cries or anything._

_Jeeze… it was only a question._

Sunstreaker whapped Sideswipe upside the helm and looked back at Chi in time to see her sit down and bury her head in her knees. She was crying… what the slag were they supposed to do now?

_Sunny…_

_Cool it Sides… I don't know what to do here._

_Should we call Optimus?!_

Now Sideswipe was panicking slightly. He was no better at handling crying females than Sunstreaker was.

_No… we'll figure this out… just, hold up._

"You know… I know you two are out there." Chi called, though her voice was slightly off because of the tears.

The twins froze and looked at each other; they thought they had been pretty good at being quiet.

"Well… are you two just going to stand there and act like your paint jobs don't stand out from the foliage?" Chi raised her head and looked right at them. "I don't bite you know."

"We know that." Sideswipe stated, though he hesitated before stepping out of the tree line. "But… we kind of thought you wanted to be alone."

"You thought I wanted to be alone, but followed me way out here anyway." Chi observed blandly. "Seems like I'm alone all right."

"Okay, maybe this wasn't the best idea…" Sunstreaker grouched. "But you don't need to be out here crying alone."

Chi gave him a contemplative look, before snorting and shaking her head.

"You sure do know how to make a girl feel better, you know that right?" She asked with heavy sarcasm.

"That's our job isn't it?" Sideswipe asked in full seriousness.

Both Sunstreaker and Chi gave him an unappreciative look.

"Sarcasm… it's a foreign language to you, isn't it?" Chi finally had to ask.

"He never did pick up the ability to read or utilize the wonderful world of sarcasm." Sunstreaker stated with a pitying shake of his head. "What a shame."

"Pity… it is a useful skill to have." Chi grinned suddenly.

"Oh ha ha… make fun of the red one why don't you?" Sideswipe growled, though he was grinning. "Might as well, everyone else does."

The three laughed together before falling into comfortable silence. Sunstreaker picked Chi up and placed her on his shoulder before leaning against the wall.

"You guys are okay right. All of your repairs settled in alright?" Chi asked quietly as the last rays of sunlight dwindled.

"Yep, you and Ratchet did a good job." Sideswipe smiled, and glanced over at the human woman.

"Good… I was worried there for a while." She gave a sad smile, but her eyes never left the sunset.

"Why?" Sunstreaker didn't even bother looking at her after voicing his question.

"Well… you guys are always getting hurt, and ninety nine percent of the time, it's because you're protecting or saving me." She shrugged. "And… I don't know what I'd do if the two of you actually ended up not on-lining after a battle… I just… I worry about you guys."

Silence reigned for several minutes before Sideswipe pushed away from the wall, walked a few steps away, and stared up at the sky.

"What are you doing?" Chi asked after more heavy silence.

"You see that star, you know… the one that you guys call the 'northern star'?" Sideswipe pointed at the star in question.

"Yeah, it's the brightest star in the sky." Chi gave Sideswipe a questioning look and then glanced at Sunstreaker, who was wearing a grin. "Why?"

"As long as that star is shining, we'll be here for you." Sideswipe stated, and then looked at her with the most serious expression she had seen him wear. "No matter what. We'll make sure that you're safe, and we'll always fight to get back to you."

"Even if, one day, you don't want us to, we **will** be ready to stand by you." Sunstreaker added. "No matter what."

Chi stared at them, and then bit her lip as tears sprung to her eyes. They thought that they had said something wrong for a few minutes, until she smiled and nodded.

"Thank you… both of you. You guys don't know how much that means to me." She hugged Sunstreaker's neck and then motioned for Sideswipe to put her on his shoulder so that she could hug his neck as well. "That doesn't mean I won't still worry about you guys… but it does make me feel better."

"No problem Chi." Sideswipe grinned down at her. "Glad we could make you feel better."

She smiled and looked down at the ground with a blush.

"You know, I—"

Her statement was cut off by the alarm klaxon going off and the twins sharing a look.

"We need to get you inside." Sideswipe stated all business.

"We promise, we'll come back in one piece after words." Sunstreaker added.

Chi nodded and clung to Sideswipe's neck plating as he and Sunstreaker ran around to the front of the base. Once there she, in a split second decision that she knew she would regret later, pressed a kiss to Sideswipe's cheek, and then jumped over to Sunstreaker's shoulder to do the same.

"You two better come back online and in one piece." She stated before activating her hover board and jumping off of Sunstreaker's shoulder. "Or else."

They stared after her dumbly for several seconds, before saluting and saying, in unison:

"Yes ma'am!"

Chi turned her hover board around, grinned back at them and shot off in the direction of the med-bay so that she could have a slight panic attack over what she had just done.

~.~ ~.~

So… there we go. New chapter, the first hints of their feelings are starting to show, and Chi is thoroughly embarrassed by what she just did.

Yeah… some drama there.

Anywho… if you read it, please review it!

Until all are one,

Chistarpax


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